Method, apparatus and system using a plurality of low-frequencies for therapy

ABSTRACT

An oscillating unit ( 12 ) of a low-frequency therapeutic apparatus ( 10 ) is controlled by a frequency control device ( 18 ) to generate plural frequencies chosen from the frequencies determined in advance according to the disease of interest, and these frequencies are delivered from the lowest in an ascending order at specified time intervals.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to a method, apparatus and system forlow-frequency therapy.

BACKGROUND ART

Conventionally, electric therapeutic machines have been used as a sortof physical therapy, and a part of the electric therapeutic machineincludes a low-frequency therapeutic apparatus which aims at treating adisease by applying electrodes on the surface of skin of a patient, andpassing therewith a low-frequency current through the patient's body.

The low-frequency therapeutic apparatus comprises a therapeuticelectrode (active electrode) applied on a site to be treated, and aninactive electrode to couple with the above electrode, and applying alow-frequency electric current between the two electrodes via a voltagedelivered from an oscillator.

Such a low-frequency therapeutic apparatus is required, for example byJapanese Industrial Standards, to have an oscillator which can generatewaves of at least one frequency for each of four bands of not more than5 Hz, 5-50 Hz, 50-500 Hz and 500-1000 Hz.

Such a low frequency therapeutic apparatus has been used for the purposeof, for example, prevention of disuse atrophy of paralyzed muscles, painrelief and recovery of failed local blood circulation, throughstimulation by way of electric currents. Furthermore, particularly asmall low-frequency therapeutic apparatus has been used for relaxingstiffened shoulder muscles.

The conventional low-frequency therapeutic apparatuses as describedabove have been exclusively used for stimulation of muscles, painrelief, and recovery of failed circulation, but remains practicallyineffective for the treatment of definitive diseases.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

This invention aims at providing a method, apparatus and system forlow-frequency therapy capable of effectively treating definitivediseases by applying a low-frequency current.

One aspect of this invention relating to the method achieves aboveobject by providing a low-frequency therapy comprising passing a currentof a low-frequency through the patient's body from the skin wherein atleast a part of 1-10000 Hz is chosen as the frequency of low-frequencycurrent, and a series of those frequencies are delivered step by step inan ascending order at specified time intervals.

This method is based on the findings the present inventors have obtainedthemselves through experimentation. Namely, the inventors have foundthat, when an electric current is passed through a human body, theeffective lowest frequency varies according to the kind of disease, butmore or less damaged cells pass more readily the current than do normalcells. To put it otherwise, an electric current of a low frequency tendsto pass more readily through damaged sections within a human body.Hence, when the current passing through the patient's body is graduallyincreased in its frequency, the most seriously damaged parts receive thecurrent most amply at first, which are followed step by step by lessdamaged parts, and thus treatment proceeds from more damaged parts toless damaged parts in order.

As for the therapeutic effect, the following assumption may be offered:if for example a cell has its membrane so sclerosed as to disrupt theinterchange of intracellular and extracellular fluids, or if for examplea nerve cell can not or can scarcely transmit nerve impulses as a resultof sclerosis, stimulation of the cell or nerve cell by passing a weakcurrent whose frequency is raised step by step at specified intervalswill soothe the stiffness these cells have undergone, to recover theirnormal activity which will eventually result in the subsidence ofdisease or healing of the disease.

The present inventors have made another discovery that an electriccurrent having a specific frequency (for example chosen from 69 specifickinds of frequencies between 1 and 10000 Hz) has a particularly notabletherapeutic effect.

This invention comprises selecting in advance plural kinds offrequencies, and applying a low-frequency current having the thusselected frequencies for therapy.

This is because, as different cells, muscle systems, blood vessels andlymphatics, and nervous systems are involved according to the kind ofdisease, it is necessary for achieving a quite satisfactory therapeuticeffect to choose appropriate frequencies according to the type of cellsinvolved in the disease of interest, and to combine those frequenciesfor therapy.

According to this invention, the appropriate frequency to be chosenincludes 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 15, 20, 26, 60, 72, 95, 100, 120, 125, 160,440, 448, 465, 500, 600, 625, 660, 666, 690, 700, 725, 727, 728, 730,740, 770, 776, 787, 790, 799, 800, 802, 803, 804, 832, 840, 875, 878,880, 885, 890, 1500, 1550, 1560, 1570, 1600, 1800, 1840, 1850, 1900,1998, 2000, 2008, 2052, 2100, 2120, 2127, 2128, 2130, 2489, 2490, 3000,5000 and 10000 Hz and the therapy consists of selecting a part thereof.

This invention is characterized by including a basic therapy consistingof applying an electric current having frequencies of 20, 60, 70, 72,75, 125, 666, 727, 740, 787, 790 and 10000 Hz in this order, and, anadaptive therapy consisting of applying another current havingfrequencies previously chosen as appropriate according to the kind ofdisease to be treated.

This invention is characterized by applying plural times in repetition alow-frequency current having a part of the choice frequencies asdescribed above to the patient's body for therapy.

Further, this invention is characterized by applying in repetition alow-frequency current having the highest choice frequency as describedabove to the patient's body for therapy.

This invention adopts 20 Hz as the lowest of all the choice frequenciesas described above.

Alternatively, this invention adopts 666 Hz as the lowest of all thechoice frequencies as described above.

Furthermore, this invention adopts 10000 Hz as the highest of all thechoice frequencies as described above.

Still further, this invention adopts 5000 Hz as the highest of all thechoice frequencies as described above.

One aspect of this invention relating to the therapeutic apparatusachieves above object by providing a low-frequency therapeutic apparatuscomprising a therapeutic electrode to be applied to a treated site, aninactive electrode placed on the same human body in conjunction with thetherapeutic electrode for passage of electric current through the body,and an oscillating unit generating a weak electric current having alow-frequency to be given between the two electrodes, wherein theoscillating unit contains a frequency control device which chooses fromamong plural frequencies previously selected from at least part of1-10000 Hz, and achieves a switching of the thus chosen frequencies inan ascending order at specified time intervals.

Another aspect of this invention relating to the therapeutic apparatusprovides the low-frequency therapeutic apparatus which further comprisesa memory section to memorize the data of plural frequencies previouslychosen appropriately in accordance with the kind of disease, and aselection signal delivering section to read from the memory section thedata of plural frequencies previously chosen as described above, inresponse to an instruction signal fed in accordance with the kind ofdisease to be treated, and to achieve a switching of oscillationfrequencies of wave from the oscillating unit according to the thus readdata in an orderly fashion.

According to still another aspect of this invention relating to thetherapeutic apparatus, the plural frequencies chosen in advance includea part of 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 15, 20, 26, 60, 72, 95, 100, 120, 125, 160,440, 448, 465, 500, 600, 625, 660, 666, 690, 700, 725, 727, 728, 730,740, 770, 776, 787, 790, 799, 800, 802, 803, 804, 832, 840, 875, 878,880, 885, 890, 1500, 1550, 1560, 1570, 1600, 1800, 1840, 1850, 1900,1998, 2000, 2008, 2052, 2100, 2120, 2127, 2128, 2130, 2489, 2490, 3000,5000 and 10000 Hz.

According to still another aspect of this invention, the frequencieschosen for the basic therapy introduced before the therapy specific forthe disease of interest include 20, 60, 70, 72, 75, 125, 666, 727, 740,787, 790 and 10000 Hz.

One aspect of this invention relating to the therapeutic system achievesabove object by providing a low-frequency therapeutic system comprisinga therapeutic electrode to be applied to a treated site, an inactiveelectrode placed on the same human body to couple with the therapeuticelectrode for passage of electric current through the body, anoscillating unit generating a weak electric current having a frequencyof 1 to 10000 Hz to be given between the two electrodes, a frequencyselecting device to switch, in response to an incoming frequencyselection signal, the current oscillation frequency of wave from theoscillating unit to the designated frequency, and a frequency selectioncontrol device to choose oscillation frequencies from among thepreviously chosen plural frequencies in the range of at least a part of1 to 10000 Hz, to arrange them in an ascending order for delivery atspecified time intervals, and to deliver them as respective frequencyselection signals to the frequency selecting device.

As described above, the oscillating unit and the frequency selectioncontrol device which delivers information regarding the frequency ofwave to be generated by the oscillating unit are separated from eachother, and thus it is possible for the frequency selection controldevice at one site to control multiple oscillating units at differentplaces by linking itself with them through telecommunication lines, andthus to lower the overall cost. Besides this it is also possible, evenwhen a new disease is recently added through research to the list oftreatable diseases, the therapeutic frequencies effective for thatdisease can be readily utilized by all the member oscillating unitswithout the need for updating the current contents of memory of thoseindividual oscillating units.

Another aspect of this invention relating to the system further providesa system wherein the frequency selection control device comprises amemory section to store the data of plural frequencies to be chosen inaccordance with the kinds of diseases, and a signal delivering sectionto read, in response to an instruction signal fed in accordance with thekind of disease of interest, the aforementioned data giving theappropriate plural frequencies to be chosen in accordance with that kindof disease, and to deliver them as frequency selection signals step bystep in an ascending order to the frequency selection device.

Still another aspect of this invention relating to the system providesthe frequency selection control device which delivers the selectionsignal to the frequency selecting device through wired or wirelesstelecommunication lines.

According to still another aspect of this invention relating to thesystem, the plural frequencies include a part of 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 15, 20,26, 60, 72, 95, 100, 120, 125, 160, 440, 448, 465, 500, 600, 625, 660,666, 690, 700, 725, 727, 728, 730, 740, 770, 776, 787, 790, 799, 800,802, 803, 804, 832, 840, 875, 878, 880, 885, 890, 1500, 1550, 1560,1570, 1600, 1800, 1840, 1850, 1900, 1998, 2000, 2008, 2052, 2100, 2120,2127, 2128, 2130, 2489, 2490, 3000, 5000 and 10000 Hz.

According to still another aspect of this invention relating to thesystem, the frequencies chosen for the basic therapy introduced beforethe therapy specific for the disease of interest include 20, 60, 70, 72,75, 125, 666, 727, 740, 787, 790 and 10000 Hz.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a low-frequency therapeuticapparatus embodying this invention.

FIG. 2 is a table giving the content of memory stored in the memorysection of the same low frequency therapeutic apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a lateral view to illustrate how treatment proceeds with thesame low-frequency therapeutic apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a lateral view to illustrate how treatment proceeds with thesame low-frequency therapeutic apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic lateral view to illustrate another example oftreatment with the same apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view to illustrate the basic therapy.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram to illustrate a low-frequency therapeuticsystem embodying this invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Embodiments of this invention will be described in detail below withreference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, a low-frequency therapeutic apparatus 10 of thisinvention comprises an oscillating unit 12 generating a weak current ofa low frequency, and a therapeutic electrode 14 and an inactiveelectrode 16 which receive the current generated by the oscillating unit12.

The therapeutic electrode 14 is an electrode to be applied to a site onhuman body which requires treatment, while the inactive electrode 16 orthe paired electrode to the therapeutic electrode 14, is an electrode tobe applied on the same body for passage of electric current through thebody.

The therapeutic and inactive electrodes 14 and 16 are composed, forexample, of a conductive rubber plate or of a conductive adhesive sheetattached on the surface of a conductive rubber plate, and they can beclosely attached to the surface of human body.

The oscillating unit 12 comprises a frequency control device 18 tochoose oscillation frequencies from among plural frequencies previouslyselected from the range of 1-10000 Hz, and to arrange them step by stepin an ascending order at specified time intervals for delivery, and anoscillating section 20 to oscillate the current according to controlsignals delivered by the frequency control device 18.

The present inventors have found through experimentation that anelectric current having following 69 frequencies in the range of 1-10000Hz has a particularly notable therapeutic effect. Electric currentshaving other frequencies were either barely effective or ineffective oreven harmful. The plural frequencies described above are chosen fromfollowing 69 frequencies, i.e., 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 15, 20, 26, 60, 72, 95,100, 120, 125, 160, 440, 448, 465, 500, 600, 625, 660, 666, 690, 700,725, 727, 728, 730, 740, 770, 776, 787, 790, 799, 800, 802, 803, 804,832, 840, 875, 878, 880, 885, 890, 1500, 1550, 1560, 1570, 1600, 1800,1840, 1850, 1900, 1998, 2000, 2008, 2052, 2100, 2120, 2127, 2128, 2130,2489, 2490, 3000, 5000 and 10000 Hz.

The frequency control device 18 further comprises a memory section 22 tomemorize plural frequency data previously chosen appropriately inaccordance with the kinds of diseases, a selection signal deliveringsection 24 to read, from the memory section 22, appropriate frequenciesfrom among plural frequencies previously chosen as described above, inresponse to an instruction signal fed in accordance with the kind ofdisease to be treated, and to change the oscillation frequency of wavefrom the oscillating section 20 according to the currently readfrequency data in an orderly fashion, and a hand-manipulated inputfeeding section 30 to be described below.

The oscillating section 20 comprises a high frequency oscillator 26, anda frequency modifying section 28 which contains a revolving device torevolve round the frequencies generated by the high frequency oscillator26, and converts a high frequency of electric current generated by thehigh frequency oscillator 26 into a frequency corresponding with one ofthe plural frequencies previously chosen, in accordance with aninstruction signal delivered by the selection signal delivering section24.

The memory section 22 stores numbers representing the kinds of diseasesand data of frequencies appropriate for the kind of diseases in the formof table as presented in FIG. 2. Take arteriosclerosis as an example. ANo. 001 representing that disease and appropriate frequencies to beselected comprising 20, 60, 70, 95, 125, 666, 727, 740, 787, 790, 880,5000 and 10000 Hz have been stored in memory ready for use. Take allergyas another example. A No. 002 representing the disease and appropriatefrequencies to be selected comprising 7 frequencies in total of 666,727, 740, 787, 790, 880 and 10000 Hz have been stored in memory.

The selection signal delivering section 24, when the operator feeds aninstruction signal through the hand-manipulated input feeding section 30according to the kind of disease of interest, for example, No. 001 forarteriosclerosis, No. 002 for allergy, No. 003 for anorexia, etc.,reads, from the memory section 22, plural frequency data appropriate forthe kind of disease, and delivers them as output.

Incidentally, with this low-frequency therapeutic apparatus, electricityapplied to the therapeutic and inactive electrodes 14 and 16 has amaximum voltage of 30V and a maximum current of 50 mA, and they arebelow the voltage and current limits over which damages of the humanbody (or of cells) will result.

The duration of current application is determined for example as threeminutes for each frequency, and principally no interruption is necessaryat each switching from one frequency to another, but such aninterruption may be inserted as appropriate. Further, the duration ofthree minutes may be somewhat lengthened or contracted.

For treatment, for example, of arteriosclerosis, the therapeuticelectrode 14 and the inactive electrode 16 are applied on the skinadjacent to the one and another ends of the artery suffering fromsclerosis, and an electric current is passed between the two electrodes.For the treatment of anorexia, the therapeutic and inactive electrodes14 and 16 are applied one on the frontal skin and the other on thedorsal skin covering the stomach or intestine, so that the twoelectrodes sandwich the affected organ and a current is allowed to passthrough that organ.

Some kinds of diseases are often caused by a distorted spinal column, orabnormal disposition or imbalance of muscles placed on both sides of thespinal column. For treatment of such a disorder, as shown in FIG. 3, theelectrodes 14 and 16 are applied one on the posterior surface of neck ofthe patient P and the other on the posterior surface of upper sacrum,and an electric current is passed between the two electrodes.

As still another application, for treatment of a lesion located anywherefrom the toe to the part just beneath the navel, as shown in FIG. 4,therapy consists of pouring warm water into two basins 31A and 31B,dissolving a small amount of electrolytes such as table salt in the twovolumes of water to reduce the electric resistance thereof, having thepatient P put his/her feet (from the toe to the heel) one for eachbasin, placing the therapeutic and inactive electrodes 14 and 16separately for each basin, and passing an electric current between thetwo electrodes. For the treatment of a patient having a systemic orchronic disease, therapy consists of having the patient put his/her feettogether in one basin, inserting one electrode into the same basin andplacing the other electrode on the neck, and passing a large amount ofelectrons through the body.

An alternative therapy may consist of having the patient putting his/herboth hands and feet in two basins 31C and 31D separately as shown inFIG. 5, pouring warm water dissolving table salt into the two volumes ofwater, placing the therapeutic and inactive electrodes 14 and 16separately in the two basins 31C and 31D, and passing an electriccurrent between the two electrodes. In this case, the patient is allowedto sit on a chair 31E during therapy.

The present inventors found that, prior to the therapy specific for adisease of interest, introduction of a basic therapy which contributesto shift the pH of bodily fluid of the patient which has been displacedtowards acidity, to weak alkalinity will bring about a great therapeuticeffect.

The basic therapy, as shown in FIG. 6, consists of placing one of thetherapeutic and inactive electrodes 14 and 16 into a basin 31, havingthe patient P put his/her bilateral feet into the same basin 31,applying the other electrode on the posterior part of patient's neck,and passing an electric current between the two electrodes. The basin 31is filled with warm water dissolving table salt or the like.

The frequency of electric current includes 20, 60, 70, 72, 125, 666,727, 740, 787, 790 and 10000 Hz, and these frequencies are appliedacross the two electrodes in this order.

On completion of this basic therapy, therapy (adaptive therapy)consisting of passage of an electric current having frequenciesappropriate for the disease sustained by the patient P is undertaken.

In this case, the used frequencies may be totally or partly the samewith those of basic therapy or may be totally different from the latter.In addition, the sites of the patient P for application of electrodes 14and 16 for the adaptive therapy may be the same with or different fromthose for the basic therapy.

According to clinical experience, for example in the treatment ofhypoacusis, therapy consists of passing an electric current between thetwo ears, and the patient receiving the therapy came to perceive highfrequency sounds considerably well which have been practicallyinaccessible to perception heretofore. Further, when an electric currentwas passed between the bilateral temples, the patient came to have animproved vision.

In addition to arteriosclerosis, allergy and anorexia described above,the therapy was also effective for the treatment of 327 differentdiseases including, to mention a few, asthma, anemia, arthritis,appendicitis/inflamed cecum/pneumonia, hypotension, burn, nephritis,hypertension, constipation, cystitis, cancer, etc.

However, the definitive reason why the therapy consisting of raising thefrequencies of electric current step by step in an ascending order iseffective for the treatment of those diseases as described above can notbe offered yet.

Only the following assumption may be presented.

Firstly, each cell has on its cell membrane many ionic channels, but,when it has its cell membrane sclerosed, these ionic channels becomeclosed making it impossible to interchange ions such as calcium ions,sodium ions, potassium ions, etc. between the intracellular andextracellular spaces, or reducing such interchange to an extremelymarginal level. In this state, the patient may be often afflicted with aso-called ionic-channel failure disease. Sclerosis of cell membrane mayresult from the injurious effect due for example to oxygen radicals.

As another possible cause, a biochemical phenomenon or a so-calledcalcium paradox may be mentioned. When the calcium concentration inblood lowers for some reason, calcium constituting bones dissolves intoblood, and the dissolved calcium in blood is pushed into the interior ofcells through the action of hormones, and the involved cells are exposedto a so-called calcium toxin and become sclerotic. Although calcium isone of minerals essential for the vital activity, calcium excessivelydissolved in blood is rather harmful to a living body.

As a third possible cause, the following may be mentioned. With respectto muscle cells, calcium enters into the cell interior to act as atrigger for contraction, but, when muscle cells generate lactic acidafter a hard exercise, calcium binds to lactic acid thus generated toform calcium lactate which may cause the involved muscle cells toharden.

As a further postulate, the inner wall of an artery is constituted bysmooth muscle cells, and, when calcium binds to those smooth musclecells, the involved cells become so sclerotic that they can not maintainthe elasticity of the artery. To compensate for this defect, a newgrowth of smooth muscle cells occurs over the hardened cells, and suchprocesses are repeated one after another to gradually narrow thecross-sectional area of the artery. This is a known cause for thedevelopment of so-called arteriosclerosis.

Even such sclerotic cells, when being exposed to an electric current,naturally contract. When the stimulating current occurs as analternating current, the involved cells may repeat contraction andrelaxation. During the stimulation, however, sclerotic cells do notrespond uniformly to all frequencies of stimulating current but contractin response to certain specific frequencies.

Generally, more seriously hardened cells become more responsive to lowerfrequencies, because they have lost more severely their elasticity. Forexample, when a hardened cell is exposed to a current having a frequencyof 15 Hz, it vibrates just as it is put in resonance with thestimulation, and through the vibration, the sclerotic membrane of thecell is relaxed and resumes a certain degree of elasticity. Accordingly,the cell which has resumed a certain degree of elasticity after beingstimulated for example with a current of 15 Hz frequency, becomesresponsive or resonant to a current of somewhat higher frequency, say,20 Hz.

In this manner, raising the frequencies of stimulating current step bystep in an ascending order will also raise the resonant frequency of asclerotic cell, and repeating this therapy will finally lead to thecomplete recovery of the elasticity inherent to the membrane of thecell. Then, the various ionic channels will become possible to openagain, and normal cell activities will become possible which will leadto the healing of the disease.

The stimulation applied to the cell is null in terms of mean voltage,and through the stimulation calcium is only mechanically removed butdoes not exist as free ions electrochemically. Accordingly, calciumrequired by the cell for its vital activity is not lost through thestimulation.

Furthermore, application of a current with specific frequencies does notgive any harmful effects on the various cells of human body and theirDNA, or rather it is thought beneficial because it may contribute todestruction of viruses and bacteria invading the human body.

To put it more in detail, viruses and bacteria are surrounded by clustergoblets (colloidal membranes) while tissue cells and blood cells of thehuman body are devoid of such cluster goblets. Thus, application of acurrent having the frequencies specifically destructive to such clustergoblets may destroy viruses and bacteria selectively without inflictingany damage to the host cells. Or, viruses and bacteria whose clustergoblets have been destroyed after exposure to the current having thefrequencies specifically destructive to them will lose a capability toregenerate or migrate, so that they can not develop a resistance todrugs even if they escape destruction brought about by the electricstimulation.

Moreover, stimulation with an electric current having frequencies of660, 740, 890, 1840, 1998, 5000 and 10000 Hz relaxes human body andgives a good sensation, promotes the secretion of a hormone calledoxytocin, increases alpha-wave components in EEG, relieves painassociated with disease, and excites human vigor and rejuvenates theactivity of cells.

The lowest frequency used consists of 20 Hz or 666 Hz in most cases.When 20 Hz is used as the lowest frequency, most stimulation may contain666 Hz in its process to reach the highest frequency. In addition, inmost stimulation cases, 20 Hz is followed by 60 Hz and 666 Hz by 727 Hz.

The present inventor found that it is greatly beneficial to have thepatient take an aqueous solution of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)before he/she receives the therapy with the low-frequency therapeuticapparatus of this invention. This is probably because calcium removedfrom cell membranes during therapy binds to the carbonate group ofsodium bicarbonate, to form calcium carbonate which is then excreted.

For therapy, application of at least five sessions continuously with 72hours intervals on average inserted between adjacent sessions iseffective, and for the treatment of the patient seriously ill orweakened by a chronic disease, it is preferable to employ as the initialtherapy a session consisting of frequencies not exceeding 1000 Hz.

The frequencies to be used for the therapy with the low-frequencytherapeutic apparatus are in the range of 1-10000 Hz, and the reason isas follows.

Firstly, with the conventional low-frequency therapeutic apparatus, forstimulation of degenerate nerves and muscles, passage of electriccurrents at a rate, for example, of once a few seconds is required, andthe wave form of the electric current must have a long duration. Thistype of apparatus is not for stimulating individual muscle cells, butfor stimulating a mass of cells representing a muscle. For stimulatingindividual muscle cells, it is thought necessary to resort tofrequencies not less than 1 Hz.

Setting the upper limit of frequency at 10000 Hz or less was derivedfrom the fact that frequencies exceeding that limit are problematic fromthe viewpoint of safety to human body, and that a current having 100000Hz frequency greatly relaxes human body as described earlier.

According to our experiments, it was found that, when a session consistsof delivering a series of frequencies step by step in an ascending orderand the highest frequency is 5000 or 10000 Hz, repetition of twosessions far enhances the therapeutic effect than otherwise possible.

Repetition of sessions are also effective for enhancing the therapeuticeffect as seen, for example, in the treatment of arterial aneurysm.Thus, in this case, repetition of the lowest frequency or 20 Hz twiceand the highest frequency or 5000 Hz twice enhances the therapeuticeffect as well.

Next, the therapeutic system dependent on the use of the low-frequencytherapeutic apparatus described above will be given below with referenceto FIG. 7.

This low-frequency therapeutic system comprises an external control unit34 in place of the frequency control device 18 of the low-frequencyapparatus 10 of FIG. 1, or, for example, a computer implemented apartfrom the oscillating unit 38, so that the external control unit 34 cancontrol the frequency and timing of oscillatory waves throughtelecommunication lines 36.

The external control unit 34 is composed of a computer, and comprises amemory section 34A, a selection signal delivering section 34B and ahand-manipulated input feeding section 34C.

Further, an oscillating unit 38 incorporates a high-frequency oscillator38A and a frequency modifier 38B, and receives control signals throughan I/O interface 40B from telecommunication lines.

The external control unit 34 and the telecommunication line 36 are alsoconnected to the oscillating unit via the I/O interface 40A.

The actual usage of this low-frequency therapeutic system proceeds asfollows.

Firstly, the user (patient or operator) contacts the operator (physicianor his/her assistant) of the external control unit 34 through atelecommunication line, informs the operator of the name of his/herdisease, and asks for application of the low-frequency therapy.

The operator teaches, according to the name of disease, the manner howthe user should apply the therapeutic and inactive electrodes 14 and 16upon his body, and then feeds the code number representing the name ofdisease, for example, No. 001 for arteriosclerosis as mentioned earlierthrough the hand-manipulated input feeding section 34C.

The oscillating unit 38 on the side of the user has been booted up bythe external control unit 34 through the telecommunication line 36, and,on receiving an input from the hand-manipulated input feeding section34C, reads successively frequencies appropriate for the disease from thememory section 34C, and controls the oscillating unit 38 on the side ofthe user by delivering signals from the selection signal deliveringsection 34B.

In this way, the frequencies specified for the disease are picked up oneafter another at specified intervals, and they are delivered across thetherapeutic and inactive electrodes 14 and 16.

On completion of the specified treatment period, the external controlunit 34 arrests the oscillating unit 38 through the telecommunicationline 36.

The therapeutic system as described above is advantageous in that itobviates the need for updating the data concerning individual diseasesstored in the memory section of the user's low-frequency therapeuticapparatus even when a new modification is needed or added, or a set offrequencies are introduced for a newly found disease.

Further, when the patient or his/her attendant asks a question or givesinformation, the physician or expert operator can take a proper action,and thereby prevent the patient or the attendant from being indulged inirrational use of the therapeutic apparatus based solely on his/herdogmatism.

As shown by the two-dot-one-dash lines of FIG. 7, monitoring of how thetherapeutic and inactive electrodes 14 and 16 are attached on thepatient's body may be achieved by introducing, in addition to theoscillating unit 38, a display 42: image data representing the electrodesites corresponding with the disease of interest is read from an imagememory section 44 of external control unit 34, and the image ispresented on the display 42 for monitoring.

Industrial Applicability

According to this invention, it is possible to bring about an excellenttherapeutic effect by relaxing sclerotic cells so as to recover theirnormal vigor safely without inflicting any adverse effects to the humanbody, or by annihilating bacteria and viruses or foreign organismsparasitic to human body, and further by enhancing the bodily immunity.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for low-frequency therapy treatingdiseases by passing a low-frequency electric current from the skinthrough the body of a patient wherein therapy comprises: having thepatient ingest a bicarbonate; delivering a low-frequency current from atleast a part of 1-10000 Hz to the patient step by step in an ascendingorder at specified time intervals.
 2. A method for low-frequency therapyaccording to claim 1 wherein therapy comprises choosing in advanceplural frequencies, and delivering a low-frequency current with thosechosen frequencies.
 3. A method for low-frequency therapy according toclaim 2 wherein the plural frequencies comprise a part chosen from 1, 2,4, 8, 12, 15, 20, 26, 60, 72, 95, 100, 120, 125, 160, 440, 448, 465,500, 600, 625, 660, 666, 690, 700, 725, 727, 728, 730, 740, 770, 776,787, 790, 799, 800, 802, 803, 804, 832, 840, 875, 878, 880, 885, 890,1500, 1550, 1560, 1570, 1600, 1800, 1840, 1850, 1900, 1998, 2000, 2008,2052, 2100, 2120, 2127, 2128, 2130, 2489, 2490, 3000, 5000 and 10000 Hz.4. A method for low-frequency therapy treating diseases by passing alow-frequency electric current from the skin through the human bodywherein therapy comprises choosing the frequencies of low-frequencycurrent from at least a part of 1-10000 Hz, and delivering them step bystep in an ascending order at specified time intervals wherein a basictherapy comprising delivering a current with frequencies of 20, 60, 70,72, 75, 125, 666, 727, 740, 787, 790 and 10000 Hz is initially given inthis order, and another therapy comprising delivering a current withfrequencies chosen appropriately according to the kind of disease ofinterest is then given.
 5. A method for low-frequency therapy accordingto claim 2, 3 or 4 wherein therapy comprises passing repetitively pluraltimes through the human body a part of the chosen frequencies ofcurrent.
 6. A method for low frequency therapy according to any one ofclaims 2 to 4 wherein therapy comprises passing repetitively through thehuman body a low-frequency current with the highest frequency of all thechosen frequencies.
 7. A method for low-frequency therapy according toany one of claims 2 to 4 wherein the highest of all the chosenfrequencies is 10000 Hz.
 8. A method for low-frequency therapy treatingdiseases by passing a low-frequency electric current from the skinthrough the human body wherein therapy comprises choosing thefrequencies of low-frequency current from at least a part of 1-10000 Hz,and delivering them step by step in an ascending order at specified timeintervals wherein the lowest of all the chosen frequencies is 20 Hz. 9.A method for low-frequency therapy treating diseases by passing alow-frequency electric current from the skin through the human bodywherein therapy comprises choosing the frequencies of low-frequencycurrent from at least a part of 1-10000 Hz, and delivering them step bystep in an ascending order at specified time intervals wherein thelowest of all the chosen frequency is 666 Hz.
 10. A method forlow-frequency therapy treating diseases by passing a low-frequencyelectric current from the skin through the human body wherein therapycomprises choosing the frequencies of low-frequency current from atleast a part of 1-10000 Hz, and delivering them step by step in anascending order at specified time intervals wherein the highest of allthe chosen frequencies is 5000 Hz.
 11. A low-frequency therapeuticapparatus (10) comprising a therapeutic electrode (14) to be appliedonto a site to be treated, an inactive electrode (16) to be applied onthe human body (P) to couple with the therapeutic electrode (14) so thatan electric current can be passed through the human body, and anoscillating unit (12) to generate a weak current with a low frequency tobe applied across those electrodes (14 and 16), wherein: the oscillatingunit (12) contains a frequency control device (18) which choosesfrequencies to be generated from among the plural frequencies chosen inadvance from at least a part of 1 to 10000 Hz, and switches thosefrequencies from the lowest one after another in an ascending order atspecified time intervals.
 12. A low-frequency therapeutic apparatus (10)according to claim 11 wherein the frequency control device (18)comprises a memory section (22) which stores the data of the pluralfrequencies chosen in advance according to the kinds of diseases, and aselection signal delivering section (24) which, in response to aninstruction signal fed according to the kind of disease of interest,reads the corresponding data of the plural frequencies from the memorysection (22), and delivers selection signals thereby to change thefrequencies of a wave generated by the oscillating unit (12) in anorderly fashion.
 13. A low-frequency therapeutic apparatus (10)according to claim 11 or 12 wherein the plural frequencies comprise apart out of 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 15, 20, 26, 60, 72, 95, 100, 120, 125, 160,440, 448, 465, 500, 600, 625, 660, 666, 690, 700, 725, 727, 728, 730,740, 770, 776, 787, 790, 799, 800, 802, 803, 804, 832, 840, 875, 878,880, 885, 890, 1500, 1550, 1560, 1570, 1600, 1800, 1840, 1850, 1900,1998, 2000, 2008, 2052, 2100, 2120, 2127, 2128, 2130, 2489, 2490, 3000,5000 and 10000 Hz.
 14. A low-frequency therapeutic apparatus comprisinga therapeutic electrode to be applied onto a site to be treated, aninactive electrode to be applied on a human body to couple with thetherapeutic electrode so that an electric current can be passed throughthe human body, and an oscillating unit to generate a weak current witha low frequency to be applied across those electrodes wherein theoscillating unit contains a frequency control device which choosesfrequencies to be generated from among the plural frequencies chosen inadvance from at least a part of 1 to 1000 Hz, and switches thosefrequencies from the lowest one after another in an ascending order atspecified time intervals wherein the basic therapy introduced prior tothe therapy specific for the disease of interest comprises delivering acurrent with frequencies of 20, 60, 70, 72, 75, 125, 666, 727, 740, 787,790 and 10000 Hz.
 15. A low-frequency therapeutic system (32) comprisinga therapeutic electrode (14) to be applied onto a site to be treated, aninactive electrode (16) to be applied on the human body (P) to couplewith the therapeutic electrode (14) so that an electric current can bepassed through the human body, an oscillating unit (38) to generate aweak current with a low frequency ranging from 1 to 10000 Hz to beapplied across those electrodes (14 and 16), a frequency selection unit(38B) to change the frequency of a wave generated by the oscillatingunit (38) into the frequency designated by an incoming frequencyselection signal, and a frequency selection control unit (34) whichchooses the data of plural frequencies from among plural frequencieschosen in advance from a part of 1-10000 Hz, arranges them in anascending order at specified time intervals, and delivers them asfrequency selection signals to the frequency selection unit (38B), theoscillating unit (38) and the frequency selection control unit (34) areseparated from each other, and the frequency selection control unit (34)at one site delivers the selection signal to the frequency selectiondevice (38B) at different places through a wired or wirelesstelecommunication line (36).
 16. A low-frequency therapeutic system (32)according to claim 15 wherein the frequency selection control unit (34)comprises a memory section (34A) which stores the data of pluralfrequencies chosen appropriately according to the kinds of diseases, anda signal delivering section (34B) which, in response to an instructionsignal fed according to the kind of disease of interest, reads thecorresponding data of the plural frequencies from the memory section(34A), and delivers frequently selection signals representing thoseplural frequencies from the lowest in an ascending order to be thefrequency selection unit (38B).
 17. A low-frequency therapeutic system(32) according to claim 15, wherein the plural frequencies comprise apart out of 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, 20, 26, 60, 72, 95, 100, 120, 125, 160, 440,448, 465, 500, 600, 625, 660, 666, 690, 700, 725, 727, 728, 730, 740,770, 776, 787, 790, 799, 800, 802, 803, 804, 832, 840, 875, 878, 990,885, 890, 1500, 1560, 1570, 1600, 1800, 1840, 1850, 1900, 1998, 2000,2008, 2052, 2100, 2120, 2127, 2128, 2130, 2489, 2490, 3000, 5000 and10000 Hz.
 18. A low-frequency therapeutic system (32) according to claim17 wherein the frequencies of an electric current used for the basictherapy preceding the therapy specific for the disease of interestcomprise 20, 60, 70, 72, 75, 125, 666, 727, 740, 787, 790 and 10000 Hz.19. A low-frequency therapeutic system according to claim 15 whereintherapy comprises passing repetitively plural times through the humanbody a part of the chosen frequencies of current.
 20. A low frequencytherapeutic system according to claim 15 wherein therapy comprisespassing repetitively through the human body a low-frequency current withthe highest frequency of all the chosen frequencies.
 21. A low-frequencytherapeutic system according to claim 15 wherein the lowest of all thechosen frequencies is 20 Hz.
 22. A low-frequency therapeutic systemaccording to claim 15 wherein the lowest of all the chosen frequency is666 Hz.
 23. A low-frequency therapeutic system according to claim 15wherein the highest of all the chosen frequencies is 10000 Hz.
 24. Amethod for low-frequency therapeutic system according to claim 15wherein the highest of all the chosen frequencies is 5000 Hz.
 25. Amethod for low-frequency therapy treating diseases by passing alow-frequency electric current from the skin through the human bodywherein therapy comprises choosing the frequencies of low-frequencycurrent from at least a part of 1-10000 Hz, and delivering them step bystep in an ascending order at specified time intervals and placingportions of the human body into a liquid.
 26. A method for low-frequencytherapy as claimed in claim 25 wherein said liquid is comprised of waterand salt.